Snippet: Byzantium
by Shae07
Summary: Where was Lexi during the events of Byzantium? Closer than you think
1. Chapter 1

"He's gone."

Lexi's pace slows and she sits down on the bench closest to her, "What?"

"He's gone Lex," Dean's voice is solemn from the other end of the phone, "We thought we could save him, we thought we could…"

His voice trails off and Lexi's mind races in hundred different directions. She just spoke to Jack two days ago and he didn't tell her he was sick. He had told her about fishing with Dean and getting to drive the Impala and suddenly it all made sense.

"Have you talked to Mom?" Dean questions her, "Do you know where she is? I left her a voicemail."

"Not in a couple days," Lexi replies as she stands up from the bench.

"We're going to do a hunter's wake."

"I'll be there soon."

_**Jack sat at the kitchen table eating cereal while Sam sat across from him drinking coffee and flipping through an old dusty book of lore. Their quiet, peaceful breakfast was quickly interrupted by Dean's booming voice as he came into the room. **_

"_**I said I don't like it."**_

"_**I told you," Lexi followed behind him and grabbed an empty coffee mug, "I'm going."**_

_**Lexi poured some coffee into the mug and placed it on the kitchen counter in front of the man before grabbing another mug to pour her own. Dean grabbed the mug angrily. **_

"_**Why do you tell me these things then?" his voice still angry. "You know what I do when I know Sam isn't going to like my idea? I DON'T TELL HIM!"**_

_**The expression on Sam's face went from surprised to exasperated, and he turned his attention back to Jack whose eyes were wide. **_

"_**I don't like it when Mom and Dad fight," Jack's voice was barely above a whisper. **_

_**Lexi had finished adding sugar and cream to her coffee and she smiled at Jack's comment.**_

"_**It's okay sweetie," she winked at him, "I'll get you in the divorce."**_

_**She took a sip of her coffee as Sam turned from his seat to look at her with an innocent smile, "Me too?"**_

"_**Funny," Dean glared at the three of them, "you're real funny."**_


	2. Chapter 2

Lexi wipes the tears from her cheeks as the rain pounds her windshield. Knowing Jack is gone makes it hard to think, much less drive, but she knows where she needs to be. So, she thinks of another memory she has of the boy as she continues down the road.

"_**He hates me," Jack said to her as she sat down on the library steps beside him. **_

"_**No," Lexi said as she rubbed his back reassuringly with her hand, "he was scared."**_

"_**Scared?" the boy gave her a confused look.**_

"_**When Dean gets scared," she began, "he gets angry and loud, that doesn't mean he hates you."**_

"_**But he is mad at me?"**_

"_**Yes," she replied, "but that'll pass. It's okay to get mad at each other, it is going to happen, a lot actually."**_

"_**Really?"**_

"_**Yea," Lexi continued with a small smile, "it's what makes you family Jack. Let me see your cell phone."**_

_**Jack fumbled in his jacket pocket for a moment then handed his phone over to her and she quickly flipped through the screens and programmed a phone number into his contact list. **_

"_**I'm putting my cell phone number in here," she began, "next time there's a big blow out, you're welcome to call or come by the house to chill out. My place is a safe zone, I always have ice cream and junk food."**_

_**Jack gave her a genuine smile as he took his phone from her, "So that's where he went."**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**The last time Dean and Sam had an argument," Jack began, "Sam left angry and I overheard Cas ask Dean where Sam was going. Dean said he knew where Sam was going, and he'd be fine. He went to your house, didn't he?"**_

_**Lexi smiled and nodded her head, "Sometimes you need a break."**_

_**Jack surprised her as he embraced her tightly and she held him for a moment, "Thank you Lexi."**_

"_**Anytime," she said sweetly as Jack pulled away with a smile, then stood up and headed back through the library. **_

_**Dean had watched from the entrance to the war room, he had calmed down and had come to find Jack to apologize for what he had said earlier. Lexi looked over to the entrance and saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets. **_

"_**Thank you," he said.**_

It's late when she arrives at the bunker, but she makes her way into the empty war room and through the library. There is light coming from the kitchen and she makes her way down the hall, tucking her hair behind her ear. She makes one last swipe at her cheeks to remove any residual tears, she knows her eyes are red and puffy from crying. Dean sits alone at the kitchen table, a few empty liquor bottles and glasses in front of him. She walks over and gently places her hand on his shoulder.

The touch surprises him, but he's buzzed enough that his reaction is slower than normal.

"He's gone," the words are full of sadness.

Lexi sits down on the seat next to him and takes the half empty glass from in front him and takes a sip from it, trying to fight back the tears. The amber liquid burns a trail down her throat but it's a familiar comfort.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you," Dean says without looking up from the table, "we thought we could fix it."

She turns the highball glass up again as he continues speaking, "He loved you, he wanted you to know that. You were always so good with him."

Lexi closes her eyes tightly, holding back the inevitable, but it's pointless as she feels him place his hand on top of hers on the table and she lets go of the breath she was holding as the tears begin to fall.

"It's not fair," she says quietly before she finishes the rest of his drink and slides the empty glass to the center of the table.

After a few moments Dean lays his head on the table and Lexi can see how exhausted he looks. She stands up and rubs her hand across his shoulders, "How about you go to bed?"

"I will in a minute," he says stretching his arm out on the table to use as a pillow.

Lexi gives him a sad smile, knowing he'll wake up in the exact same position in the morning. She makes her way down the hall and sees light still coming from under the door leading to Sam's room so gives a small knock and waits to hear a muffled 'yea' from inside before she opens it.

Sam has books strewn across his bed and the desk beside his bed and he's pacing the floor with a book in his hand. He looks up to see who's at the door and gives her a genuine smile. This wasn't the reaction she was expecting out of him.

"Are you okay?" she questions him carefully.

"Yea," he closes the book, "I have an idea."


	3. Chapter 3

Lexi yawns and takes another sip of the coffee Sam had brought her earlier as she looks through the book in front of her on the bed. It had been several hours since he had explained his plan to her, and it sounded like it might just work.

"When's the last time you slept?" Sam questions from his chair at the desk.

She rubs her eyes as the words on the page begin to blur before her, "What's today? Tuesday? It's been like twenty-four hours maybe."

"It's Wednesday," he corrects her, and she gives him a sheepish grin as he stands up and takes the book from her.

"Look," Sam begins to gather the books off the bed, "I'm going to call Lily, get everything in place to get this done. You need to sleep, I've got it from here."

She nods her understanding, "This is going to work right?"

"Yea," he replies giving her a hopeful smile, "it's going to work."

He flips the light off and pulls the door closed behind him as he says to himself, "It has to."

Lexi rolls over in the bed and stretches her arms out in front of her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept good enough to wake up feeling refreshed; then it hits her, Jack's death and Sam's plan. She's not at home, she's in the bunker and she grabs her phone to check the time, but her phone screen flashes a low battery warning and goes black, which tells her she's slept longer than a few hours.

If no one's came to wake her up, then that must mean there's no good news. She jumps from the bed and quickly rushes out of the bedroom and down the hallway but stops abruptly when she realizes her jeans are gone. She remembers spilling coffee on her jeans and having to strip down to her boy shorts before she went to sleep and she rushes back into the bedroom, flipping the light-switch back on. Glancing around she grabs the first thing she sees which is a dark blue and red flannel and throws it on, knowing she's so much smaller than Sam that the shirt will hang down to her knees like a dress, which it does. Lexi buttons several of the buttons down and pushes the already rolled up sleeves further up her arms to her elbows as she rushes down the hallway.

Lexi suddenly hears laughter from the kitchen, and she sprints in that direction. She stops abruptly in the doorway and sees both brothers, Cas, and Jack sitting at the table, eating dinner as if nothing had happened and for a split second she's wondering if it had been a dream.

The large bite of burger Dean had just taken nearly chokes him as he looks over to see Lexi standing in the doorway, her hair is messy and she's wearing Sam's shirt. _Is that Sam's shirt? Where are her pants? Where did she come from? I thought she went home._

Sam's face is suddenly bright red and he's fumbling with words as Lexi smiles at Jack who's looking over his shoulder at her.

"Lexi," the younger brother begins, as Lexi sprints over to Jack, "I'm sorry, I forgot…"

"Is that Sam's shirt?" Dean questions, but no one offers him an answer.

Lexi wraps her arms around Jack's neck from behind and hugs tightly as she kisses the top of his head several times like he's a new puppy.

"You're back."

"I am," he says with a smile as she continues to hug him.

"Is that Sam's shirt?" Dean questions again.

Cas, who is sitting beside Jack, looks over at Lexi and takes a moment to look at the shirt in question before he turns back to look at Dean who is sitting across from him, "Yes, that appears to be Sam's shirt."

Sam's face is still red because he knows exactly what this looks like, and he looks across to Lexi, "Sorry, I know you were exhausted, and I was letting you sleep and then everything happened, and I sort of forgot."

"Why were you exhausted?" Dean turns his question to Lexi with a small smirk, because the look on his brother's face is too good to pass up and it's been a stressful twenty-four hours.

Lexi reaches up to scratch the back up her head innocently, "Well, Sammy kept me up all night."

"Oh God," Sam says under his breath as pushes his plate forward and drops his head to the table.

Dean and Lexi are both laughing at Sam's embarrassment, while Cas tries to hide his laughter as Jack continues to eat his burger. Lexi hugs Jack once more, "I'm glad you're back."

"We all are," Cas says with a smile.

Regaining his composure Sam lifts his head from the table and runs a hand across his face, then gives Lexi a puzzled look as she moves to the kitchen counter to fix herself a burger, "Where _are_ you pants?"

"Oh," she replies, as she pulls a hamburger bun from the pack, "I spilled coffee on them last night, so I have no pants."

She shrugs her shoulders as she finishes up her burger and lifts it to her mouth to take a bite.

"I think you have some shorts here," Dean says nonchalantly then takes a sip of his beer.

"Really?" Lexi says around a mouthful of food, "What color are they?"

"Blue," he responds, while Cas and Sam suddenly seem intrigued by this conversation.

"I've been looking for those," Lexi says excitedly as she lays her burger down and starts towards the doorway, "Where?"

"Bottom dresser drawer," Dean responds, "my room."

She gives him a quick thumbs up then takes off down the hallway.

Sam turns to look as his brother, "Really? You're giving me a hard time."

"What?"

"Why does Lexi have clothes in your room?" Jack is now in on the conversation.

"It's a pair of shorts," he counters, and Sam's eyes get bigger as he continues, "and a shirt, or two, maybe some jeans. Look, we've had _a lot _of people in and out of here lately and her stuff usually stays in one of the spare rooms. I thought it might be better if I just put it in my room out of the way."

"Uh huh," both Cas and Sam say simultaneously.

"I think it's nice," Jack states with a smile to Dean as the older brother takes a long swig from his beer, "Maybe next time she'll sleep with you instead of Sam."

Dean does a spit-take and the beer spews out onto the table and onto Cas. Sam's laughing at Jack's statement, as well as his brother's reaction, and Cas' face after having beer spit at him, and he must remove himself from the table.

"What?" Jack questions confused, "Isn't that what you were just talking about?"

"Lexi didn't sleep with me last night," Sam clarifies as he walks to the counter and Cas wipes his face dry.

"But she said you kept her up all night."

"Doing research," he continues, "We were doing research, then she was tired, and I let her sleep in my room while I went to the library to continue doing research."

"Oh," Jack replies as the realization sets in.

Dean shakes his head with a smile as he takes another sip of his beer, this time not spitting it everywhere and Cas stands up from the table, mildly disgusted "I'll smell like beer."

The older brother watches as Cas makes his way out of the kitchen and Sam says he's going to claim his room back and follows shortly after him. Dean looks back to Jack who has just finished his burger, but he looks as if he's thinking about something as he stands up and takes his plate to the sink. He stops at the doorway before he exits the kitchen and turns back to Dean.

"So, were you and Lexi doing research a few weeks ago?"

Dean cocks an eyebrow at him curiously, "What?"

"I remember," Jack begins, "A few weeks ago, right after you came back, after Michael left, I was going to the kitchen for some water. It was late, I don't remember what time, but everyone was asleep. I heard a door open and I saw Lexi come out of your room. I didn't even know she was here, and she didn't see me. Is that why she was in your room?"

His face changes as realization sinks in as to what night Jack is referring to and he rubs the back of his neck with one hand, hesitant on how to answer this question.

"Yea," he finally says with a smile, "now go get some sleep kid."

The End.


End file.
